Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition is the second release in Jura’s new Sherry Cask range, and our favourite of the pair we tasted at Whisky Live Paris 2026. Matured in ex-bourbon barrels and fully finished in 500-litre Manzanilla sherry butts, it is fruity, lemony and distinctly salty, bottled at 46% ABV with natural colour and no chill filtration for £65 RSP. Its sibling, the Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition (46%, £50 RSP), is the richer, nuttier and sweeter of the two. Both are sold through specialist shops and online in the UK and mainland Europe.
When we were on Islay, Jura was the island we kept looking at. It sits just across the Sound of Islay, close enough to feel like a short hop, and we never made the crossing.
So the first time we stood with Jura’s new sherry range in our hands was not on the island at all. It was in the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, at Whisky Live Paris, glass in one hand and the two new bottles on the table in front of us.
Two whiskies, two very different sherry styles. One of them was the dram we kept going back to.
What is the Jura Sherry Cask range?
The Jura Sherry Cask range is a new series of single malts from the Isle of Jura distillery, each one finished in a different style of sherry cask. The first two releases are the Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition and the Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition.
Both share the same specification backbone. They start life in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, receive a full finish in sherry-seasoned wood, and are bottled at 46% ABV with natural colour and no chill filtration.
The theme is sobremesa, the Spanish habit of staying at the table after a meal to keep the conversation going. Jura’s whisky makers built the range around that idea: whiskies meant for the after-dinner, nobody-is-leaving-yet part of the evening.
In shops you will often see the bottles listed as “Jura 12 Year Old Sherry Cask” and “Jura 15 Year Old Sherry Cask” rather than by their edition names. They are the same whiskies.
Who is Jura, and why the island matters here
Jura is one of Scotland’s most remote whisky islands, part of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast. It has one road, one pub, one distillery and roughly 212 residents. The distillery in Craighouse was founded in 1810 and rebuilt in 1963, when locals revived it to keep the island’s community alive.
Geographically it belongs to the informal Islands grouping rather than Islay, even though the two islands sit side by side. That distinction matters in the glass. Jura’s house style is unpeated for the most part: fruity, balanced and lightly coastal, shaped by tall copper pot stills that give a light new-make spirit with stone-fruit character.
That light, fruity spirit is exactly why a sherry range makes sense here. There is room in it for the cask to speak, and the choice of sherry style changes the result dramatically, as these two bottles prove.
The range also builds on Jura’s 2025 redesign, which introduced clear age statements and a “three key flavours” device on the back of every pack. It is a simple idea that helps a newer drinker know what to expect before they open the bottle.
Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition: our tasting notes
This was our favourite of the two, and it was not close.
Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition
ABV: 46% | Cask type: ex-bourbon American oak barrels, full finish in 500-litre Manzanilla sherry butts | Natural colour, non-chill filtered | Price: £65 RSP / €64.90 (France)
Nose (Jura’s official note): citrus peel, blanched almond, freshly baked bread, gorse flower, sea spray
Palate (TDW):bright and fruity, lemon, a gentle sweetness, a fine dry-sherry complexity underneath, then a pronounced saline edge that makes the whole thing feel crisp
Finish (Jura’s official note): nectarine, toffee, vanilla pod, with gorse flower and sea spray returning on a long finish
Back-of-pack key flavours: Citrus, Almond, Mineral
What stayed with us was the salt. It is not a faint coastal suggestion. It sits right there on the palate, and it is what turns the fruit and lemon from pleasant into genuinely crisp. The sweetness keeps it rounded, the saltiness keeps it fresh.
It also tastes like a whisky where the cask and the spirit are working together rather than one covering the other. You still get Jura’s fruit, and the Manzanilla adds a layer on top instead of painting over it.
Why Manzanilla works so well on Jura’s spirit
Manzanilla is a pale, bone-dry sherry from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river in Andalusia. Like fino, it is aged under a layer of yeast called flor, which protects the wine from oxygen and keeps it fresh and pale. The sea air in Sanlúcar is often credited with giving Manzanilla its famously saline, tangy character.
That is a natural partner for an island whisky. Jura’s spirit already carries a soft coastal note, and a cask that held a coastal, salty, crisp wine pushes that in the same direction.
The cask size helps too. The 15 is finished in 500-litre butts, the large traditional sherry casks, which give a gentler, slower influence than smaller wood. That suits a delicate sherry style like Manzanilla, where the goal is lift and minerality rather than weight.
Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition: our tasting notes
The 12 is the first release in the range, and it goes in a completely different direction.
Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition
ABV: 46% | Cask type: ex-bourbon American oak barrels, full finish in American and European oak Oloroso sherry hogsheads | Natural colour, non-chill filtered | Price: £50 RSP
Nose (Jura’s official note): floral and aromatic, peach and apricot
Palate (TDW): sweeter and fuller in body than the 15, with the classic walnut-like nuttiness you expect from Oloroso, layered over stone fruit
Finish (Jura’s official note): dark chocolate
Back-of-pack key flavours: Prune, Walnut, Dried Citrus
Oloroso is the opposite of Manzanilla. It ages without flor, in contact with oxygen, which gives a darker, richer, nuttier wine. You can feel that in the 12: more body, more sweetness, more of the nut and dried fruit that Oloroso brings.
It is a generous, comforting dram and the more obvious fit for the sobremesa idea of a whisky after a big meal.
Manzanilla vs Oloroso: how the two Jura editions compare
| Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition | Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 12 years | 15 years |
| ABV | 46% | 46% |
| First maturation | Ex-bourbon American oak barrels | Ex-bourbon American oak barrels |
| Finish | American and European oak Oloroso hogsheads | 500-litre Manzanilla sherry butts |
| Colour / filtration | Natural colour, non-chill filtered | Natural colour, non-chill filtered |
| Our impression | Sweet, full-bodied, nutty, stone fruit | Fruity, lemon, gently sweet, pronounced salinity, crisp |
| Key flavours (Jura) | Prune, Walnut, Dried Citrus | Citrus, Almond, Mineral |
| Best moment | After a rich meal | With seafood, or as an aperitif-style dram |
| Price (RSP) | £50 | £65 |
| Who it’s for | Fans of classic, rich sherry-finished malts | Drinkers who like fresh, coastal, salty whisky |
How to drink them: sobremesa, oysters and a drop of water
Jura’s lead blender Joe Ricketts suggests pairing the 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition with fresh oysters. We did not get to try that on a busy festival floor, but having tasted the whisky, it makes complete sense: salt meeting salt, lemon meeting the brine.
The 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition is the after-dinner bottle. Think cheese, dark chocolate or simply the end of a long meal with people you like.
One honest note: we tasted both neat. At 46% ABV there is room to play with a few drops of water, and we are curious to see whether it opens up more fruit in the 12 and pushes the salinity further forward in the 15. We will update this piece when we have tried it.
Price and availability
Both whiskies are sold through specialist whisky shops and online, in the UK and across mainland Europe.
Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition: £50 RSP, 70cl, 46% ABV.
Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition: £65 RSP, 70cl, 46% ABV. UK retailers have listed it between roughly £60 and £65, and in France, where Jura is distributed by La Maison du Whisky, it is listed at €64.90.
The 15 launched in September 2026, and in some shops it was listed as “arriving soon” in the run-up, so stock may still be landing in some markets.
Is the Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla worth £65?
Yes. For our money this is the one to buy.
At £65 you get a 15-year-old single malt at 46%, natural colour, no chill filtration, and a profile that is genuinely distinctive: fruity and lemony with a salty, crisp palate that you will remember. That combination of age statement, presentation and character at this price is strong.
Buy the 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition if you like fresh, coastal whisky, enjoy dry sherry styles, or want a sherry-finished malt that feels bright rather than heavy.
Buy the 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition if you love classic rich sherry: nutty, sweet and full-bodied, an easy after-dinner pour at £50.
Our next step is clear: get to Jura itself, the island we looked at from Islay and never reached.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition? It is a 15-year-old single malt Scotch from the Isle of Jura distillery and the second release in Jura’s Sherry Cask range. It is matured in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, then fully finished in 500-litre Manzanilla sherry butts, and bottled at 46% ABV with natural colour and no chill filtration.
What does Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla taste like? We found it fruity and gently sweet, with lemon, a fine dry-sherry complexity and a pronounced salty edge that makes it feel crisp. Jura’s official notes add citrus peel, almond, fresh bread and sea spray on the nose, with nectarine, toffee and vanilla on a long finish.
What is the difference between the Jura Oloroso Edition and the Manzanilla Edition? The 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition is finished in Oloroso hogsheads and is sweeter, fuller-bodied and nuttier, with stone fruit. The 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition is finished in Manzanilla butts and is fresher, lemony and distinctly salty. Both are 46% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered.
How much does the Jura Sherry Cask range cost? The Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition has a recommended retail price of £50 and the Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition £65, both for a 70cl bottle. UK shops have listed the 15 at around £60 to £65, and in France it sells for €64.90 through La Maison du Whisky.
Where can I buy Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla? It is sold through specialist whisky shops and online in the UK and mainland Europe. UK retailers including The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt have listed it, and in France it is available via La Maison du Whisky and whisky.fr. Check your local specialist retailer for stock elsewhere in Europe.
Is the Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition the same as the regular Jura 12? No. The standard Jura 12 Year Old is also finished in Oloroso casks but is bottled at 40% ABV. The 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition is a separate release at 46% ABV, with natural colour, no chill filtration and a full finish in American and European oak Oloroso hogsheads.
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